Los Angeles Lakers: Trading Rajon Rondo would be a mistake

The Los Angeles Lakers have offered the New Orleans Pelicans a new trade package for Anthony Davis, one that includes both the team’s point guards.

The Los Angeles Lakers have doubled down and have gone all-in on acquiring Anthony Davis, something that every fan expected to happen when the rumors around Davis first picked up steam.

Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that the Magic Johnson offered the New Orleans Pelicans a package of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley. The Lakers would also be taking on Solomon Hill, whose contract expires after next season, as cap relief for the Pelicans. (h/t Silver Screen and Roll).

Some fans might be confused as taking on Hill’s contract would give the Los Angeles Lakers less money to spend next offseason, money the team is going to need in order to fill out a fairly depleted roster.

However, the Lakers would still have enough cap space to add role players and could even use Hill as a trade asset in the offseason in order to make a trade happen financially as well.

Heck, worse comes to worse the Lakers could take the same approach that the front office did with Luol Deng’s hefty contract.

That should not even be the biggest concern with Laker fans. Instead, the obvious big concern that the fans should be considering, and certainly a question that the front office must answer, it what the team will do at point guard.

If the Lakers deal both Ball and Rondo in this deal it would leave the team with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Alex Caruso and Isaac Bonga as the backcourt options.

Say what you will but KCP and Hart should not be the two-best players in a title-contending backcourt. Svi could make a career out of being a sharpshooter off the bench and Caruso and Bonga are G League talents.

Plus there is the high chance of KCP being flipped in another trade. There were rumors that the Lakers and Bulls talked about a Caldwell-Pope for Jabari Parker flip. Even if the team acquires a point guard in a trade like this the best-case scenario would be someone like Jeremy Lin.

That is why the Lakers should be fighting to keep Rajon Rondo at all costs. He is on an expiring contract anyway so he does not have a ton of trade value to a team like the Pelicans, who already have a point guard in Jrue Holiday.

Holiday can play the two with Ball at the point but adding Rondo still seems like a bit of an excess.

Meanwhile, Rondo can be an extremely valuable asset in the playoffs as the Los Angeles Lakers would suddenly become the favorite to dethrone the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.

James and Davis would already be a stellar pairing and Rondo thrived alongside Davis. Throw in the fact that Rondo has the experience and always kicks it into an extra gear in the postseason and trading Rondo suddenly becomes a move that the Los Angeles Lakers would significantly regret.

I’m all for the Los Angeles Lakers going all-in on Anthony Davis. However, this deal can be done without Rajon Rondo and should be done without Rajon Rondo.